Since the beginning of 2014, 20 cases of sexual assault have been reported to OU's Title IX Office, and in May it was announced that 55 higher education institutions were under Title IX investigation, showing that sexual assault is an issue on many college campuses.
At OU, victims of sexual assault or gender-based violence have options for reporting or seeking help.
Laura Palk, OU’s Title IX coordinator, said allegations of non-consensual sexual conduct are reported to her office throughout the year.
The university takes such allegations seriously, Palk said, and OU offers several resources to students who have experienced sexual misconduct that are separate from law enforcement.
The following are options for students to report sexual assault:
•Counselor or doctor
•University officials
•Local law enforcement
If a student reports an incident of alleged sexual misconduct to the university, the Sexual Misconduct Office gathers information regarding the incident and interviews witnesses to see if OU’s Sexual Misconduct, Discrimination and Harassment policy was violated.
If a violation is found and the accused individual is a student, the incident is brought to Student Conduct, Palk said. If the accused individual is faculty or staff, an executive officer over him or her oversees the matter. Then, sanctions are implemented or a three-person panel of faculty and staff gather to hear the facts of the sanctions.
If a report of sexual misconduct is reported to the university, a crime does not necessarily have to have been committed, Palk said.
If a student decides to report an incident of sexual misconduct to local law enforcement, OU is required by federal law to conduct an internal administrative investigation to see if university policies have been violated, Palk said.
Instead of needing to prove the crime beyond reasonable doubt as required in criminal cases, university policy violations only need to appear more likely to have occurred than not, Palk said.
Students can also call OU Advocates, which is a group of staff who offer confidential assistance to victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence. OU Advocates, formerly known as the Sexual Assault Response Team, are on call 24/7, Palk said.
The response team members can give students more information, such as how to request schedule changes or new housing arrangements, Palk said.
Kathy Moxley, director of the Women’s Outreach Center, said the advocates offer a variety of resources to students who have experienced gender-based violence or sexual assault.
“Those advocates can help them at whatever level they want to be assisted,” Moxley said. “It’s really important that the person gets to be in control of the choices that they make.”
Moxley said that the Women’s Outreach Center also strives to change culture on campus regarding sexual misconduct.
To change the culture on campus Moxley said students should do the following:
•Hold their friends and themselves accountable for treating others with respect.
•Believe and support their peers if they tell them they have experienced sexual assault.
•Intervene if they see sexual misconduct occur.
•Report instances that they witness.
“You have a responsibility to say something or do something when you see behavior that puts someone at risk for sexual misconduct or any form of gender-based violence,” Moxley said.
The Women’s Outreach Center also offers in-person bystander training programs for students. Step In Speak Out is provided to members of the greek community and to Gateway to College Learning courses, Moxley said. The One Sooner program, in collaboration with Title IX, focuses on changing social norms around campus.
Such trainings are important because many new students never learned about sexual misconduct while in high school, Moxley said.
In order to ensure that campus is a safe place in all ways for all people, everyone must contribute, Palk said.
“The campus community should be a safe place to live, work and obtain an education,” Palk said. “Without the help of each member of the OU community, campus cultures will not change.”
